UW-River Falls partners with Festival Theatre

Posted on Sep 5, 2017 at 12:00 p.m.

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"The Children of Mystery River," Festival Theatre's second Youth and Family show this year opens on Sept. 8 and runs through the 17th.

The show is based on a book by local authors, Phil and Joanne Peterson and is being adapted for the stage by the University of Wisconsin River Falls, and by Seth Kaltwasser. It follows three children as they make their way down the river in the mid 1800s. The show features 15 local youth actors and one adult.

The story for "The Children of Mystery River" came as a result of an innovative two-year pilot program called the St. Croix Master Watershed Stewards (SCMWS) - a project funded by a matching grant from the EPA Office of Education to create a staff to develop and institute a comprehensive watershed stewardship curriculum. Phil Peterson was one of those participants and "The Children of Mystery River" was the result.

The intent of the book, Peterson says was for students to "discover the real values of water and recognize the vulnerabilities of water." He also hopes that through the story students will learn that they can invent solutions in their own minds and decide what to do and what not to do about certain things they encounter.

The staged play is building on those founding principles. Director Rachel Kunhle has been asking the youth actors to embody what is needed and create it for themselves.

"The actors become the river, they become the fire and the trees and the animals," said Kuhnle. "They create a whole town, a whole storm just by their movements and actions. It's really very inventive and they're doing a wonderful job so far."

Tickets are $13.50 for adults, $8.50 for youth 5-18, and patrons are encouraged to reserve ahead of time as there are a limited number operformances left. Tickets can be purchased at FestivalTheatre.org, by emailing festivaltheatreboxoffice@gmail.com or by calling the box office at 715-483-3387.

Festival Theatre is located at 125 N. Washington St., St. Croix Falls.